Politics, division plague mangoes

Hyderabad: The king of fruits, the mango, has made a delayed entry in the city this summer. There is a 50 per cent drop in the number of trucks coming into the city. Mango dealers claim that when elections are on in full swing, buyers diminish in numbers, so they are unlikely to make a profit this season.

“Every year, the market committee gets more than 200 varieties of mangoes from districts across Telangana, Andhra, Maharashtra etc. Currently, about 350 trucks unload 450-500 tonnes of mangoes every day, which is almost 50 per cent less than in previous years in mid-April,” said R. Ashok Kumar, president, Fruit Commission Agents Association, Agricultural Market Committee, Gaddiannaram

Mango vendors also complain that though their trade is plagued  by various problems, such as corruption in allocation of shops in markets and in distribution, no politician has ever interacted with them or enquired about their problems.

“Political leaders have never visited the market or interacted with us. There are many issues persisting here. There is at least one representative from the main parties usually in all the three committees at the market and they are all very corrupt. As per the market rule, one person is eligible for only one shop, whereas these leaders get more than two assigned. Also, not everybody pays the market fee of one per cent, which if paid on time could bring better facilities for the market,” said a member of the FCAA.

S.P. Mujahid, owner of SP Fruit Company, who has been on the Gaddiannaram Agricultural Market Committee for two decades now, said, “Demand suddenly decreased during elections as people don’t come and buy in big numbers. We had to sell mangoes for less than '20 per kilo. Usually, it is only at the end of the fruit season that the prices fall that low.”

There has been a one- and-a-half-month delay in the arrival of the fruit. Vendors and commission agents at the Kothapet fruit market say that the hailstorms during the flowering time and the unrest over the bifurcation of the state impacted the supply in a big way.

Retail stores are yet to stock more varieties. Mangoes sold from push carts are selling for '60-80 per kilo. Only a few varieties of Benishaan and Himayat are available so far; Rasalu, Alphonso, Banganpally, and Dasseri are not seen much.